Recruiting older people with mild frailty from the community to a trial: what works?

Abstract Background Under-recruitment of older people to Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) is a widespread problem. Recruitment through community organisations (e.g. social groups, sheltered housing) has been thought to bolster recruitment and improve diversity. Methods We successfully recruited 388 older people with mild frailty to a RCT testing a new service designed to prevent frailty and promote independence. We compared the recruitment of participants using General Practice (GP) mailouts (N = 360), and through community organisations (N = 27). Results We found that GP mailouts involved 60% less researcher time per participant and resulted in better retention than community recruitment. Despite the aim of community-based recruitment to increase representation of underserved groups, it resulted in slightly fewer men and more people born in the UK who were White British than GP recruitment. It did increase the number of participants with lower educational levels and from more deprived areas. Conclusions Future studies may wish to modify their recruitment plans using this information and the time estimates provided. Trial Registration: ISRCTN54268283